This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

NHL lockout: Movie theatres could host Canada-Russia series if TV networks take a pass

Imagine it’s mid-afternoon in November and the NHL lockout is into its third month with no sign of an end in sight. Would you head with your friends to a movie theatre to watch Sidney Crosby face off against Alexander Ovechkin?

Russian goalie Vladislav Tretiak stops a shot by Canadian Gary Bergman during the original 1972 Summit Series. The NHLPA is considering staging another tournament between the two nations if the NHL locks out its players on Saturday. (TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO)

The biggest obstacle to the union’s plan is the worry from broadcasters such as TSN, Sportsnet and the CBC that airing the series might jeopardize their relationship with the NHL.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean Canadian hockey fans wouldn’t be able to watch a tournament. Hockey and media executives say the NHL Players Association could still find ways for millions of fans to see such games.

For games staged in Russia, the NHLPA could negotiate a deal with Cineplex Entertainment for games to be shown in movie theatres during the afternoon. It’s a tactic that’s worked in India, where games featuring the Indian Premier League’s cricket teams have been broadcast in cinemas the past several years.

Article Continued Below

Pat Marshall, a spokesperson with Cineplex, said she wasn't aware whether the Cineplex official who negotiates live event screenings had talked to the NHLPA about its plan. But Marshall said the movie chain would probably be interested.

“It is a great fit,” Marshall said. “We’re in medium markets across the country and hockey lovers are all over the country.”

Cineplex, which has 134 theatres and 1,445 screens across Canada, has previously shown live sports events, including NHL games and the Vancouver Olympics, and Wimbledon tennis.

It's also possible that the NHLPA could negotiate with web-search-turned-media company Yahoo Inc. which earlier this year said it was considering a bid for the Canadian broadcast rights to the Olympics. Yahoo could show the tournament online.

David Akande, a former executive with Rogers Sportsnet, said it is also possible that the NHLPA will negotiate with Shaw Communications, which owns the Global TV network, even though the network is unlikely to drop its popular and expensive U.S. programming for a hockey tournament.

“This tournament would be compelling content,” Akande said. “The NHL has the best players in the world and I think hockey fans would watch.”

Akande said the most obvious fit for such as tournament is sports cable channel The Score, which Rogers recently agreed to buy.

Article Continued Below

“The Score would be in a perfect spot,” he said. “They have no relations to the NHL and Rogers could say that it was a deal that was struck under the previous owner. It let’s them make a little splash at a time when people are going to be desperate for hockey.”

There are other options for the NHLPA.

“If it were me I’d also look at the border U.S. channels where they have strong hockey markets,” Akande said. “Maybe the Fox affiliates in Buffalo, and Detroit, for starters. They would have spillover audiences in the Canadian market.”

Independent channels such as Hamilton’s CHCH-TV are another option, he said.

One senior media executive said the union could also strike deals directly with cable operators, who could sell games via pay-per-view.

“The key is going to be production costs,” the executive said. “Maybe the games are considered compelling in places like Sweden and Finland and you can find broadcasters there to help share the costs, especially of staging the games in Russia.”

A spokesperson with The Score said the network has not been contacted by the NHLPA about its planned tournament. Scott Moore, Sportsnet’s president, declined to comment because he said he had signed a nondisclosure agreement with the NHLPA. TSN officials declined the NHLPA’s offer to listen to a pitch for the games.

Without the NHL, TSN will probably show old World Junior Championship games, a source told the Star.

It’s possible that a Canada-Russia tournament might never come to fruition.

“If Crosby and Ovechkin aren’t playing, forget it,” said one senior TV executive. “It all depends which players sign contracts this year overseas.”

In 2004, during the last NHL lockout, the NHLPA and the powerful sports agency International Management Group planned to stage an exhibition game at the SkyDome on New Year’s Eve. There was supposed to be fireworks, bands, a women’s game and an open roof, modelling the game after the popular outdoor NHL game the previous year in Edmonton.

Plans called for Canada’s win over the Soviets in Game 8 of the 1972 Summit Series to be shown on the stadium’s video screen before a current-day team of Canadian NHL players faced off against Russian stars.

Sound familiar?

That game never happened because of a lack of interest from players, sponsors and broadcasters.

Larry Quinn, a former part-owner and president of the Buffalo Sabres, said the NHL “wouldn’t love” the idea of an exhibition tournament.

“The league and everybody wants them to play in the NHL and anything that causes a distraction they wouldn’t be happy about,” Quinn said.

At the league’s directive, NHL owners have refrained from commenting recently about the lockout. But Quinn said the prevailing opinion among owners is that the players’ solution to the league’s financial problems is naïve.

“You’ve got 10 teams getting rich, 10 teams losing some money and 10 teams losing a lot of money and the players say that the rich teams should just be giving money to the poor ones,” Quinn said. “Fine, to a point. But should the rich players like Zach Parise and Sidney share with their counterparts? Should they revenue share? It’s the same thing. There are have and have-not players, too.”

More from The Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com